Imperial College London
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DrTalyaPorat

Faculty of Engineering, Dyson School of Design Engineering

Senior Lecturer
 
 
 
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Contact

 

t.porat

 
 
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Location

 

Dyson BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Porat:2020:10.3389/fpubh.2020.573397,
author = {Porat, T and Nyrup, R and Calvo, RA and Paudyal, P and Ford, E},
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2020.573397},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
pages = {1--15},
title = {Public health and risk communication during COVID-19 – enhancing psychological needs to promote sustainable behaviour change},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.573397},
volume = {8},
year = {2020}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Background:The current COVID-19 pandemic requires sustainable behaviour change to mitigate the impact of the virus. A phenomenon which has arisen in parallel with this pandemic is an infodemic –an over-abundance of information, of which some is accurate and some isnot, making it hard for people to find trustworthy and reliable guidance to make informed decisions. This infodemic has also been found to create distress and increase risks for mental health disorders, such as depression and anxiety. Aim:To propose practical guidelines for public health and risk communication that will enhance current recommendations and will cut through the infodemic, supporting accessible, reliable, actionable and inclusive communication. The guidelines aim to support basic human psychological needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness to support wellbeing and sustainable behaviour change. Method:We applied the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and concepts from psychology, philosophy and human computer interaction to better understand human behaviours and motivations and propose practical guidelines for public health communication focusing on wellbeing and sustainable behaviour change. We then systematically searched the literature for research on health communication strategies during COVID-19 to discuss our proposed guidelines in light of the emerging literature. We illustrate the guidelines in a communication case study: wearing face-coverings. Findings: We propose five practical guidelines for public health and risk communication that will cut through the infodemic and support wellbeing and sustainable behaviour change: (1) create an autonomy-supportive health care climate; (2) provide choice; (3) apply a bottom-up approach to communication; (4) create solidarity; (5) be transparent and acknowledge uncertainty. Conclusion:Health communication that starts by fostering wellbeing and basic human psychological needs has the potential to cut through the infodemic and promote effe
AU  - Porat,T
AU  - Nyrup,R
AU  - Calvo,RA
AU  - Paudyal,P
AU  - Ford,E
DO  - 10.3389/fpubh.2020.573397
EP  - 15
PY  - 2020///
SN  - 2296-2565
SP  - 1
TI  - Public health and risk communication during COVID-19 – enhancing psychological needs to promote sustainable behaviour change
T2  - Frontiers in Public Health
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.573397
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.573397/full
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/82649
VL  - 8
ER  -
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